Chicago and The Pianist triumph at 75th Oscars ceremony

ROB Marshall and Catherine Zea-Jones were the toast of Hollywood today, as
Chicago took six awards at this year's Oscars
ceremony, including Best Film and Best Supporting Actress.

The musical had already performed well at both the Golden Globe and Bafta
award ceremonies, and made it a hat-trick of significant successes at the
75th Annual Academy Awards ceremony.

In what proved to be a more sombre affair than usual, due to the ongoing conflict
in Iraq and the heightened security surrounding the ceremony itself, Zeta-Jones
thanked her husband, Michael Douglas, and her family and friends for helping
her along the path to success.

The film itself also won awards for Best Art Direction, Best Costume Design,
Best Sound and Best Editing.

In what proved to be a surprising awards ceremony, several of the leading
contenders went home empty-handed. Martin Scorsese's Gangs
of New York, for example, missed out on several major honours.

The Best Actor honour, which had looked like being a straight fight between
its star, Daniel Day-Lewis, and About Schmidt's Jack Nicholson, went instead
to The Pianist star, Adrien Brody; while Roman
Polanski pipped Martin Scorsese to the Best Director statuette.

Brody's triumph meant that another Briton, Sir Michael Caine, also missed
out, while Polanski's win edged out Britain's Stephen Daldry, who had been
nominated for The Hours.

The Hours did, however, pick up a major award for one of its stars, Nicole
Kidman, who accepted the Best Actress award for her performance as Virginia
Woolf (prosthetic nose, and all).

In the Best Supporting Actor category, Chris Cooper deservedly picked up the
gold statuette for his barnstorming performance in Adaptation.

Of the other notable winners on the night, seven-times Oscar-nominee, Peter
O'Toole, was given an honorary award by the Academy for his contribution to
cinema history.

The Irish-born and British educated actor, who has appeared in such classic
as Lawrence of Arabia and Goodbye Mr Chips, had been reluctant at first to
pick up the honour because he said he still wanted the chance to win one outright.
But during his acceptance speech, he maintained that he was indeed 'honoured'
to receive it.

This year's ceremony was, however, overshadowed by events elsewhere in the
world and was deliberately kept shorter than usual, with less emphasis placed
on the dresses worn by female stars.

Host, Steve Martin, still ensured that it was an entertaining show, cracking
jokes at the expense of the Hollywood audience, but security was noticeably
tighter, with a National Guard unit brought in to protect the ceremony and
protesters using the event to express their opinions outside of the venue.

Some
stars even took the opportunity to protest against the Iraqi conflict in their
speeches, with The Pianist star, Brody, calling upon people to remember the
human cost of war, while Kidman said even in a time of crisis art was still
important.

The most controversial speech of the night, however, came from film-maker,
Michael Moore, who condemned President George Bush and the Iraqi War, while
collecting his best documentary award for Bowling
for Columbine. The popular performer has consistently objected to the
action against Iraq and his website contains an open letter to the US President
outlining the reasons why his actions should be deplored.

Other winners of note on the night included Spanish director, Pedro Almodovar,
who picked up the best original screenplay for Talk
To Her, while the best adapted screenplay went to The Pianist.

Best music (song) - Lose Yourself by Eminem (8 Mile)
Also nominated:
Burn it Blue (Frida)
Father and Daughter by Paul Simon (The Wild Thornberry's Movie)
The Hands That Built America by U2 (Gangs of New York)
I Move On (Chicago)

Best adapted screenplay - The Pianist
Also nominated:
About a Boy
Adaptation
Chicago
The Hours

Best
original screenplay - Pedro Almodovar - Talk to Her
Also nominated:
Far From Heaven
Gangs of New York
My Big Fat Greek Wedding
Y tu Mama Tambien

Best animated film - Spirited Away
Also nominated:
Ice Age
Lilo & Stitch
Spirit: Stallion of the Cimarron
Treasure Planet

Best visual effects - The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Also nominated:
Spider-Man
Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones

Best art direction - Chicago
Also nominated:
Frida
Gangs of New York
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Road To Perdition

Best animated short film - The Chubbchubbs!
Also nominated:
The Cathedral
Das Rad
Mike's New Car
Mt Head

Best short film - This Charming Man (Der er en Yndig Mand)
Also nominated:
Fait D'Hiver
I'll Wait for the Next One
Inja (Dog)
Johnny Flynton

Best costume design - Chicago
Also nominated:
Frida
Gangs of New York
The Hours
The Pianist

Best documentary short - Twin Towers
Also nominated:
The Collector of Bedford Street
Mighty Times: The Legend of Rosa Parks
Why Can't We Be a Family Again?

Best
cinematography - Conrad L Hall for Road to Perdition
Also nominated:
Chicago
Far From Heaven
Gangs Of New York
The Pianist

Best editing - Chicago
Also nominated:
Gangs of New York
The Hours
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
The Pianist

RELATED STORIES: Click here for full
details of the Bafta winners...
Click here for Indielondon's best and worst
films of 2002...
Click here for the London Film
Critics' 2002 awards...
Click here for the Online Film
Critics' Society awards...
Click here for the National
Society of Film Critics' Awards winners...
Click here for the Golden Globe
winners...
Click here to find out which films
won the British Independent Film Awards...